Crews find woman, 70, dead after house fire in Central Point

MEDFORD -- Police in the southern Oregon community of Central Point say a 70-year-old woman was found dead after a house fire.

Officers tell the Mail Tribune that fire crews found the body of Joyce Esposito on Friday in a smoke-filled duplex.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Jackson County Fire District No. 3 spokesman Don Hickman said the interior of the home was deeply charred, although there was little flame. That led firefighters to believe that the fire had been smoldering for some time.

The newspaper said the apparently unoccupied other unit of the duplex escaped damage.